Interview with Ines Kavgik. Ines visited Ghana for 3 months this
summer and presented Planetbook in two schools. Below is an interview
describing his amazing experience and what impact Planetbook had in the
children.
- What is your
specialty and profile in regards to your studies/employment?
My name is Ines Kavgić, and I am a full time student at
University of Maribor in Slovenia. I finished my bachelor in Ecology and Nature
Conservation at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and I am
currently doing the last year of my masters (Environmental Engineering at the
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering).
Aside from my studies I am an active volunteer at a local NGO
MISC INFOPEKA for more than 2 years now, and am also somewhat involved with
other, mostly Slovenian, NGOs (Voluntariat, Umanotera etc.). I regularly attend
international seminars, mostly discussing issues on the topic of environment
(e.g. Seminar Youth in Charge Armenia 2011; I was the team coordinator for the
Sustainable Environment workshop).
- What was the name of
the town and schools you visited in Ghana?
I worked in two schools in Ghana. I worked in two different
villages, Azani and Butre, both in the Western region of Ghana, but I was
accommodated between the two in the village of Busua (Busua Community Library).
I worked with children aged 9-14 mostly attending Primary School (some attended
Junior High School).
- How much time did
you spent there and what was the purpose of your visit?
I was there for almost 3 months, July-October. The main purpose
of my visit was volunteering/teaching children about the environment.
This project was a part of GLEN (Global Education Network), and
the internship in Ghana was hosted by the local NGO Embracing Hidden Talents
Network, which works to promote importance of education and empowerment of
women. It offers voluntary educational support programs to selective deprived
communities in Ghana and else where to help combat child labour practices and
provides educational support and health care services to needy children living
in rural communities.
- How many kids are
living in the orphanage and what is the average age?
In the SCHOOLS that my tandem partner (Sofia Getzin from
Germany) and I worked in we had a group of approximately 40 children (20 in
each school). The age varied between 9 and 14. During July-September our
“Environmental Watchdogs Funclub” was a part of the vacation program, after the
school started in September it became a part of the afterschool program.
- What are their day
to day activities?
Kids attend classes between 8 in the morning and 2 in the
afternoon. Sometimes there is practice to have extra classes till 4 o’clock for
the kids in J.H.S. (Junior High School). Aside from school a lot of children
are involved with helping their parents on the farm after school and for the
weekends.
- How was Planetbook
adjusted in their day to day activities?
Throughout the whole three months that Sofia and I were
conducting the workshops regarding environment, we tried to present everything
through games and activities. To keep the kids interested we did a lot of role
playing, a lot of crossword puzzles and worksheets. Planetbook was a summary of
everything that we learned. To some extent we adjusted (changed and added) the
questions in order for the kids to comprehend what knowledge they have gained
and what is still left for them to discover. These are the kids who have never
before heard of “the greenhouse effect”, and unfortunately there is only so
much you can teach them in three months, and we had difficulties with questions
regarding NGOs, because we did not learn about them at all. You need to keep in
mind that even though these kids are very smart and eager to learn, there is
the language barrier, not to mention that they live half way across the world
and are therefore faced with different priorities and challenges than those in
Europe, where the game was originally designed. However, they could not hide
the anticipation in their eyes as they were waiting to be asked the question,
and smiles when they answered the questions correctly. :)
- What was their first
reaction to Planetbook?
It was expressions of amazement and whispers of “wow”. They
always like new colorful and shiny things. If they cannot eat it, the next best
thing is playing it. :) They were carefully listening while the instructions
were being read, and once we started playing there was not only rivalry between
the opponents, but also childish dispute among individuals within the teams
about who gets to roll the dice. :) Once we finished playing the game, they of
course wanted to go another round, and every next day they would ask if we
would play the game today again.
- Did they enjoy the
game?
They enjoyed the game very much. I believe it gave them a sense
of accomplishing something, conformation that paying attention in class and
learning something is an advantage. I think it also gave them a new perspective
of the environment and the importance of keeping it clean. So there is no doubt
in my mind that the game combines fun with learning in a child-nice way.
- For which of the
zones did the kids express their most interest? Grey Zone, Hope and
Participation Zone or Saving the Planet Zone?
I would say second zone (Hope and Participation) was the one
they liked the most. I believe it was because of the diversity of questions;
when we were learning, workshops were in a way separated the topics to water,
air and soil as well – so this was a familiar concept to them. Also I believe
what intrigued them were the countless of possibilities that could happen.
Everything was left by coincidence, especially if they would jump squares or be
lead back by the oil hose.
- What do you think
was the most valuable learning point for them?
From what I observed I would say that the most valuable learning
point was that they themselves have an influence. When doing the workshop we
had countless of activities on promoting “care for environment”, so it is no
wonder that when the action card would pop up they would all jump in
anticipation – that is when they got the feeling that they are making a
contribution, and that is what we tried to encourage.
- How many times did
you play Planetbook?
We
played the game twice in each school, and in the final week, where we invited
the children participating in the “environmental watchdogs funclub” from both
schools for the final event day, we played the game again. This time it was a
battle between the schools. The game was very exciting, at times one school
would be leading, and then other times (in a different zone) another would take
over, so they were tied the whole way. And because schools in Ghana try very
hard not to make a difference we have agreed that the last question would be an
activity and if they all do it, they would all be winners. :)
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